Kororo
by Beth0987
Summary: When Horo was very little, he got lost in the snow.


Jill poked me into putting this up, so... yeah.

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine.

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When he was very little, Horo got lost in the snow.

He couldn't remember exactly why he'd run away. Ever since his baby sister had been born, his parents had been ignoring him. Horo didn't see what was so special about her anyway. He'd peeked into her cot, and she was all small and wrinkly. His daddy had said he was a big brother now; a big boy, and he had to look after his little sister. He'd tried to help his parents, but he'd always got in the way and his sister had cried and then his mummy got cross and shouted. Horo had spent most of his time hiding in his room, and they had hardly noticed. Eventually, he'd gone out into the garden, to see how long it would be until they called him in, but they hadn't even noticed he was gone. He'd gone further and further away from the house until he ended up in the woods, and now he was lost and cold and it was getting dark.

He stumbled forward, feet sinking deep into the snow. He tripped on a log half-hidden under a thick drift and landed on his knees, grazing his knee and getting covered in rapidly melting snow that was soaking through his jacket. He stubbornly pulled himself to his feet again, biting his lip as his injured knee bent. He was a big boy now. He wasn't gonna cry. He took another step. Then another. Then anot- his knees gave out and he tumbled over, another bank of snow cushioning his fall. He laid there, tears crystallising his vision and eventually running down his cheeks. He wanted to go home. His entire jacket was soaked and the chill was seeping down into his bones. He was so tired. He just wanted to sleep-

Something small flew into his face. Horo opened his eyes, then touched them to make sure they were really open. It was dark, and all he could see were vague shadows and moonlight. He swallowed a whimper of fear. He heard the trees rustle overhead. A twig snapped and he turned round, trying to find the source of the noise.

The thing flew into him again, squeaking when it hit the half-frozen spikes at the back of his head. Horo fell face-first into the snow. The thing, whatever it was, squeaked again in alarm and nudged his cheek. He looked up. It was a tiny… thing. It looked a bit like a person, but… not. He stared at it blankly for a few seconds. It flew up in the air, and nudged him again. It wanted him to get up. After a few minutes of fumbling and tottering unsteadily- it was hard to walk when he couldn't feel anything- he was heading in the direction the little thing wanted him to go. Every few steps he'd slip or stumble, but he'd always be squeaked at and made to get up. The wood didn't seem to be getting any thinner, and Horo wasn't sure how much longer he could go.

He saw a light out of the corner of his eye. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. It was still there. He heard a voice distantly calling his name. His friend squeaked with joy and started zooming around his head, while Horo tried to shout. His voice wasn't loud enough. They couldn't hear him. He grabbed a stick and started banging it as hard as he could against the nearest tree. The last thing he saw was the light coming towards him.

A couple of days later, Horo told his daddy about the thing that had saved him. His daddy had said they didn't really exist anymore, he probably imagined it. After two weeks of looking in vain for his friend, Horo was starting to believe it himself. He had searched the garden, but there was no sign. He stared thoughtfully into the woods. Maybe if he just went in a little bit… He stepped towards it. Something flew into the back of his head. He whirled round but this only gave the thing a chance to batter his face, squeaking at him angrily. He didn't need to understand what it was saying to get the message.

"Ok, Ok, I won't do it again,'

The thing seemed to calm down and squeaked a question at him, looking him up and down to make sure he was all in one piece. It flew into the doorway of the house, waiting for him to catch up. Horo followed, not quite believing he had finally found his friend. He followed it into the kitchen, where his sister was asleep in her cot.

'I'm gonna call you Kororo' he whispered, so he didn't wake the baby. 'That ok?'


End file.
